March 11, 2009

Yo La Tengo, Taking Your Requests on March 13th

While people like Harvey Levin have made the art of hosting a program a mere reduction of eye-rolling and clutching an overgrown child's sippy-cup, some of us in the contemporary media want to work for your respect, and entertain, dammit. So it's a serious thing when the Hoboken's Yo La Tengo (joined by their pal and sometimes-WFMU Speakeasy sidekick Bruce Bennett) go live with mistress and master of ceremonies Pseu Braunand Gaylord Fieldsto create some of the best and most spontaneous radio of WFMU's annual marathon this Friday night, March 13th from 8-11 PM. It's an annual ritual (and one documented in the past on CD here): YLT come to WFMU's aid yearly by taking your requests for cover songs, any cover songs at all, in exchange for your pledge to the station. It's the last week of the fundraiser, so if you've missed out, get in. It's all to support the greatest independent radio station in the land, who vow to never interrupt Jerry Bruckheimer's dinner to ask him on mic what he thought of the Chimpanzee lady. Though WFMU's Kenny G did plop himself down with Asha Bhosle when she was chowing once to ask her what she thought of Robert Ashley operas.

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So right at 8pm, I asked my two kids what song we should request from Yo La Tengo in 2009. My son replied: “Punx In The Beerlight” by The Silver Jews. My daughter countered: “Popcorn” by Hot Butter. I broke the tie by requesting “Punx” as our family selection, with “Popcorn” as our alternate. We received a hint that Hot Butter would triumph when we heard Ira working out the (invented) guitar part of “Popcorn” while Gaylord and Sue were still welcoming listeners to the broadcast. And indeed, our family request was the very first song performed this year (albeit minus the guitar riffage that we had heard Ira rehearsing scant moments earlier).

I tried to keep score at home. Except for the Stevie Wonder guess in the second set and a few fleeting lyrics in the medly, I’m reasonably confident about these song IDs. (Thanks to metafilter poster Kowalski for assisting with the Can ID and to metafilter poster ocherdraco for making the Abba ID). Here’s what I got: